


Garden Musings

by CamCam774, farkenshnoffingottom, heyitsnxel



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Flowers, Fluff, Gardens & Gardening, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-12 01:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20555684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamCam774/pseuds/CamCam774, https://archiveofourown.org/users/farkenshnoffingottom/pseuds/farkenshnoffingottom, https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitsnxel/pseuds/heyitsnxel
Summary: Dan and Phil discuss gardens and future plans, fluff ensues.





	Garden Musings

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for @Phanfictionevents Phanfic telephone event! It was co-written by farkenshnoffingottom (first part), heyitsnxel (second part), and camcam774 (third part).
> 
> Original prompt: Dan and Phil start or discuss starting a garden at their new home
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Ps. The parts written by each of us are now separated by a ~!

[“My terrarium is thriving, look at him. And so am I! Hey there.”](https://dnpnews.tumblr.com/post/185732344111/dans-instagram-story-june-20-2019)

Dan posted his latest Instagram story, then stood to bring his empty ice cream float cup to the kitchen. Phil glanced up and smiled at Dan from where he sat scrolling through his phone at the kitchen table. Dan smiled back, then walked over to the sink. He stared at the glass in his hands as the water poured over it, rinsing the dregs of ice cream and soda down the drain, as his thoughts circled back to the terrarium. He’d been giving it some water when he realized it had been almost a year, and this plant was still going strong. He and Phil joked about it a lot, but they really did manage to keep most of their houseplants alive. It had taken them a while, but they had finally figured out what plants they did best with, and they filled their flat with those.

The terrarium was thriving, and so was Dan. It seemed somewhat maudlin to think of himself as one of those plants, but Dan couldn’t help it. At first, they were just Phil’s plants, and he was the one to take care of them, but, slowly, Dan started to care for them too, and he could see them start to grow and stand on their own. Well, the plants didn’t stand on their own, but he did. Phil had supported him through it all, giving him space to grow, taking care of him, until he could see the point of taking care of himself. Unless their plants had gained sentience, this was the point where the metaphor escaped him. But he really was thriving now. He’d gotten a flood of support after his new video, and he felt such a weight lift off his shoulders, with this part of himself finally laid bare to the world. He’d spent so much time working on himself to get to the place he was now, and Phil had been incredibly patient and kind through it all, letting him figure himself out, loving him every step of the way. Just as he loved the plants, regardless of whether they thrived or got a little droopy and brown around the edges.

“I think that cup is clean enough, don’t you?” Phil asked from behind him, and Dan realized he’d been methodically filling and dumping the cup for well over a minute, the water running completely clear. Dan shook himself out of his thoughts and turned off the tap. “What are you thinking about?” Phil asked. Phil could always tell when something was on his mind, and he was always there to pull Dan out of his thoughts when he needed it most. This time, though, Dan wasn’t spiraling downwards. He was dreaming.

“I’m just thinking about us,” Dan said slowly. “And our plants.”

“Yeah, I saw you posted that,” Phil replied, leaning his head on Dan’s shoulder and wrapping his hands around his waist.

Dan let go of the glass and moved his hands to rest atop Phil’s. “We’ve kept them alive,” he said simply, leaving Phil to pick up on the unspoken meaning behind the words himself. He paused. “I’ve been thinking about what happens next.”

“Oh?” Phil asked.

“When we get a new place. Maybe it will have a yard. Do you think we could keep a garden alive? Graduate from houseplants to beds of soil in sunlight and rain?” The thought had come to him suddenly that morning, and he couldn’t quite figure out how it had seized him so strongly, but he wanted it. It would be something permanent, the plants putting down roots like he and Phil would, in a house, somewhere they would live for the rest of their lives. He could think of nothing he wanted more than to plant himself next to Phil, growing side by side with him forever.

~~~~~~

Dan glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the wistful expression crossing Phil’s face. His tongue caught between his teeth as he chuckled.

“Are you sure we wouldn’t end up with a bunch of dead flowers in the yard?” Phil joked, earning nothing but an eye roll in response. His playful demeanour only lasted long enough for that one question to be voiced before he moved his hands to Dan’s hips and turned him around.

“We could do that though. It could be like one of those butterfly gardens you showed me? With the orange flowers? Yeah and! We could buy those weird garden ornaments!”

A surge of emotion rushed through Dan as the excitement continued to grow on Phil. There was something reassuring - safe - about the way Phil spoke. There was no doubt in his mind that he and Dan would build a home together, a garden, a family. They would grow together. Their roots intertwining even more than they had over the past ten years until they were done blooming; Vibrant and full of life.

Together.

They were almost there. Every step they needed to take had almost been taken. They were both on the way to finally living their truth. The journey had been long and rough, filled with dead flowers and ripped petals. The garden of their lives trampled many times by their own feet. But they always regrew. It was always replanted and nourished. This time they both intended to keep it that way, full and lush.

His thoughts were interrupted again by Phil jostling him, his fingers poking into Dan’s rib eliciting an alarmed gasp.

“Phil.”

“Dan.”

He shot Phil a pointed, unamused look as his arms folded over his chest.

“What are you thinking about now?”

Dan hummed, low and without any hint of emotion behind it. How could he encapsulate what he was thinking into a sentence meant for Phil? It seemed too sentimental, sappy even, for Dan to bring up when they were just talking about gardens.

“We’re not getting any garden ornaments. They’re tacky.” Dan settled on saying, ignoring the offended look on Phil’s face.

“Oh I’ll be sure to tell my mum you think that the next time we go visit. I’m sure she’d love to know you find her garden ornaments tacky, Daniel.”

Dan laughed. It was an empty threat and they both knew it. Kath had been so instrumental in keeping their metaphorical garden alive. She’d showered them both with love, support, a listening ear. Anything they needed to grow and flourish in the world. She and Nigel were always the first to vouch for he and Phil’s new projects. Even their relationship. Phil’s family was just as important in keeping their garden alive as he and Phil were themselves.

“You would never. Besides, Kath loves me. She’d never believe a good boy like me would say something so rude.”

Phil deadpanned, “She watches your Youtube channel, ya’know? Your good boy image went out the window ages ago.”

~~~~~~

“She knows I’m a sweetheart though,” He replied, nudging the other as he tried to move out of the embrace to pour himself a glass of water. He’d be lying if he said the whole conversation wasn’t choking him up a bit. Phil followed behind him like a lost puppy, his eyes still clouded by a wistful mist. Without asking him what was going on, Dan could tell the other’s thoughts were fixated on their future home. “She’ll think you’re just trying to make me look bad.”

“Should I worry about my mother preferring you over her own son?” Phil asked, his tongue caught between his front teeth as he shot him a playful smirk. “She might as well adopt you already.”

Dan scrunched up his nose as he brought the glass up to his mouth. He knew that Phil often just said whatever came to mind, and he probably wasn’t thinking about the comment thoroughly. He quickly put the glass down, nearly smashing it in the process. He tried to hide a laugh as he rapidly shook his head. “Oh my god, Phil, don’t say that!”

“I’m joking, I’m joking…” The other replied, his tongue caught between his teeth in a chuckle. “I wouldn’t let her do it anyway. I’m just saying, Daniel Howell, that garden is now a future plan of mine. And there is no way I’m giving up on it, which means you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

Dan rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “I’d rather die,” He mumbled, though a tender smile gave him away. He genuinely liked the idea of staying with Phil for the rest of his life. Phil was always there for him. He was always waiting for him to come back, his arms outstretched.

Phil, Daniel thought , knew what he wanted for his life. He had most of it planned out, at the very least. He get a place where he could finally let his “roots” grow, grounding him to one place. He would have a family and grow old to tell his grandchildren about his days as a youtuber. The fact that Philip could envision him by his side made Dan’s heart feel like it was three times its size.

“Yeah, whatever you say,” Phil muttered, pulling the brunette out of his thoughts. He turned away, shooting him a smile over his shoulders. “I’ll start looking for houses with a big yard or something. Do you want to join?”

Dan let the other boy leave, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. He sighed, already imagining their future house and garden. He could picture a very cozy home, nerdy but still stylish enough. He could even envision what flowers and plants would be in their garden. Sunflowers, of course, because they were the literal embodiment of happiness; therefore, the literal embodiment of Phil. Perhaps some Bat orchids because they were the embodiment of his aesthetic. Finally, he could imagine a whole bed of lavender. He couldn’t help but be a plant nerd and look for the meanings of some flowers, and he’d adored the meaning of lavender since then.

If his sources were right, lavender stood for purity, serenity, calmness, and most importantly, devotion. Dan yearned for every bit of those things in Phil and his relationship, and what a better way to embody it than with a beautiful flower that could look great in their future garden?

“Wait for me, you nerd,” He called, making Phil laugh all the way from their living room. “Don’t you dare start without me!”

“I would never!” Phil replied, making Daniel smile to himself. He knew he wouldn’t.


End file.
